INSTINCT at HOSDB 2011

This week myself and Paul attended the Home Office Sceintific Development Branch (HOSDB) exhibition in Farnborough, Hampshire. HOSDB in conjunction with UK Trade & Investment Defence & Security Organisations is the UK's platform for showcasing to the world the some fo the new security applications, technologies and solutions that are available to international law enforcement, agencies and public security professionals.

Now, not only was it probably the best day's weather we have had for a long while, but the exhibition itself was actually quite good. Clearly there is very good reason and interest for the UK to market its wears and demonstrate some of its cutting edge technology and the usual companies and faces were there. But it was more the TD2 airport exhibition on the other side of the airbase that caught my eye.

In recognition of the role that technological innovation has to play in CONTEST, the Office for Security and Counter Terrorism (OSCT) with the support of The Ministry of Defence, HOSDB, the Centre for the Protection of National Infrastructure (CPNI) and the Association for Chief Police Officers (ACPO) established INSTINCT (Innovative Science and Technology in Counter Terrorism) INSTINCT is a cross-government programme involving more than a dozen departments and agencies and focuses primarily on improving our understanding of how technology can be best deployed to counter the threat of terrorism. Following a couple of foiled or failed attacks in the aviation environment INSTINCT commissioned its second Technology Demonstrator Project (TD2) and Thales UK was selected to deliver it.

The exhibition itself was laid out just like an airport terminal and by using your boarding card (show material, not actual) you progressed throughout the terminal being confronted by the security technology and of course any sales and marketing staff until your reached your airside area. Upon reaching airside (again, not actual) we were treated to a 10-15 minute presentation and Q&A session that visually demonstrated the process we had just undertaken, describing the joint up thinking and approach given to applying an intergrated security system that could enable early detection and identification of individuals posing a risks to airports and to protect passengers against those possible risks safely and with minimal or no intrusion.

For me this exhibition felt different than any other I've recently been to, as the providers of these applications were not necessarily selling their product directly, it felt more like selling the concept, which for me is a lot easier to 'buy in' to than the hard sale and of course in my opinion action always sounds louder than words. To those of you who didn't get the chance to visit and want to know more about a strand of the CONTEST strategy that doesn't seem to get much of a mention please take the time to visit the Home Office links provided.

Securing Britain in an Age of Uncertainty: The Strategic Defence and Security Review

The Government has published its Strategic Defence and Security Review: Securing Britain in an Age of Uncertainty [PDF, 800KB] which sets out how it will deliver the priorities identified in the National Security Strategy [PDF, 375KB]. It describes how HMG will equip our armed forces, our police and intelligence agencies to tackle the threats we face today and in the future.

National security is the first duty of Government. Britain as a country continues to have global responsibilities and global ambitions. We will remain a first rate military power.

National security depends upon economic security, and vice versa. Bringing the defence programme back into balance has required some tough decisions but is a vital part of both how we tackle the deficit and how we protect our national security.

Faced with these challenges, the Government has been determined to make the right decisions for the long term defence and prosperity of the country.

This Review will equip the UK with modern defences: Armed Forces and equipment fit for the 21st century; strong security and intelligence agencies; and diplomats and development aid which can help us prevent threats before they become a reality. We will double the amount of aid we spend in conflict countries, tackling threats at their source.

We will continue to invest in our security and intelligence agencies. And we will establish a transformative national programme to protect ourselves in cyberspace, backed by £650m of new funds.

£3m 'anti-terror' CCTV cameras 'set up to spy on Muslims' to be covered

The 218 cameras have sprung up in Birmingham’s Washwood Heath and Sparkbrook areas – to the outrage of residents who say they were not asked. They have been paid for with £3million from the Association of Chief Police Officers’ terror and allied matters fund.

None of them will be used until a public consultation exercise has taken place.
Rodger Godsiff, Lab­our MP for Hall Green, said: ‘Police have got themselves into a bit of a hole now because they have a difficult problem to explain to the public and try and get them on their side. ‘If the money did not come out of a counter-terrorism budget they may have got a different reaction.’

The Respect Party’s Sparkbrook councillor Salma Yaqoob said: ‘In terms of reassurance it’s going to take a lot more than plastic bags.’ The police say the cameras are there to fight all types of crime.

Security is simple......

Sometime ago a colleague and I were discussing the security arrangements for a particular site. We agreed on the asset we were trying to protect but could not agree on the security solutions that had been deployed and this quickly became quite a heated discussion. I believe that security in its purest form is quite simple, yet if this is true why is it one of the most emotive topics for me right up there and alongside with religion, football and now coalition politics.

I suppose the purpose of writing this blog and sharing my experiences, questions and concerns is a way of me trying find out more and attempt to understand what it is about security that makes everyone an expert. I understand that the physical or technical security application to a site, risk or areas is important, but will always strongly maintain that without the right people, processes and procedures it doesn’t matter about the Rolls Royce kit if it’s not being utilised properly.

I was fortunate to present at the recent Counter Terror Expo 2010 on providing assurance to senior management of security risks. Whilst preparing I found myself getting angry at the lack of people in the security world actually talking about this subject and noted that there are lots of ideas, discussions, plans and strategies about what the government do and how parts of the Critical National Infrastructure (CNI) are assisted by that, but the gulf between public and private I think is just too great. What happens to the private company, limited company or the small business that would not have exposure to or have the staff to understand the CONTEST strategy or the HMG Security Policy Framework (which I believe is being widely touted and over used as the way forward) what does it mean to any of them? The same could be said for most other areas of the (and for now I use the words loosely) ‘security world’ as what do they do about countering fraud, personnel security and screening arrangements for the insider threat.

Following my presentation I received feedback from a couple of visitors who said it was interesting and that they hadn’t really given providing assurance much thought, "my Finance Director could understand some of our security risks that way, thanks". Now I am not suggesting it was a pinnacle of my career but I took this feedback as a compliment (don’t get many so I’ll take it) but thought maybe I should open this discussion up to others, maybe I could post some of the questions that I don’t think I could answer without comparing it to religion, football or politics. So here goes…..it’s a simple one really….. Ready….....

What is Security?

I really hope anyone visiting this blog can help me, I am guessing there's no absolute right or wrong answer but any comment will assist in my quest, thanks for reading.